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Martha Ford now owner of Detroit Lions following husband's death

Photo by Gavin Smith / Detroit Lions
Martha Ford is second from right, next to Bill Ford. To the far left are Sheila Ford Hamp and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis.

William Clay Ford Sr.

Martha Ford is now the owner of the Detroit Lions.

The 88-year-old widow of William Clay Ford Sr. has assumed ownership of the National Football League franchise her husband bought in November 1963, the team said in a statement this morning.

Ford Sr. died at age 88 on Sunday of pneumonia at his Grosse Pointe Shores home.

“Pursuant to long-established succession plans, Mr. Ford’s controlling interest in the Lions passes to Mrs. Martha Ford. She and her four children will continue to be involved in the ownership of the franchise, as they have during Mr. Ford’s tenure,” the Lions said.

Crain’s first reported in November that Ford Sr. intended the team to remain in the family after his death.

The Lions also said this morning that William Clay Ford Jr. remains vice chairman of the team.

Tom Lewand is the team president and directly oversees the business functions of the team, while the roster is handled by General Manager and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Martin Mayhew.

Ford Jr., 56, is executive chairman of Ford Motor Co. and has been the Lions’ vice chairman since February 1995. He sits on several of the NFL’s most powerful committees and acted as the day-to-day chief executive of the team in his father’s place.

Ford Jr. and his three siblings — Martha Ford Morse, Sheila Ford Hamp and Elizabeth Ford Kontulis — each have small ownership shares in the team.

Martha Ford has 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Her husband paid $4.5 million to buy out 144 other Detroit Lions shareholders in November 1963 and assumed full control of the team on Jan. 10, 1964. He has been a minority owner and sat on the team’s board since 1956. He became team president in 1961.

Born Sept. 16, 1925, as Martha Parke Firestone, Martha Ford was granddaughter of Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. founder Harvey Firestone. She married Ford in June 1947.

Martha Ford is among a small group of female NFL team owners. The others are: